The hope for a heart-stopping new song from the former Prince dies hard. Rave
Un2 the Joy Fantastic, the Artist's first major-label album in three
years, suggests his crap detector is still at least partially on the fritz.
The canned beats and stale sentiment of "Undisputed" and "Hot
Wit U" typify the worst of his Nineties work. Yet in the midst of
these self-indulgent grooves there is a handful of great songs -- the most
Princely moments we've heard since 1992's "symbol album." "The
Greatest Romance Ever Sold," "Tangerine" and "The Sun,
the Moon and Stars" are a trio of light, twisting slow-to-midtempo
grooves that sound like refugees from Diamonds and Pearls, the least-great
of Prince's great records. The buried track "Prettyman" is a
roaring up-tempo number in the James Brown funk mode, featuring legendary
saxman Maceo Parker. And "I Love U, but I Don't Trust U Anymore" (rumored
to be about his wife, Mayte) is a tender ballad that's sharp on the issues
that come between deep lovers. The quality of these few sublime moments
outweighs the lackluster album around them. (RS 832)

USA TODAY

A Princely blend of ballads, blasts, surprises

The Artist clutches his past and clinches his future on the rave-worthy Rave
Un2 the Joy Fantastic (3.5 stars out of four), out Tuesday.

Former identity Prince properly gets a production credit for this sumptuous
collaboration between funk's Old School and pop's New Cool. The 15 tracks range
from slow jams and aching ballads to sweaty funk workouts and pop-rock blasts,
all connected by the common threads of seductive vocals, organic instrumentation
and crisp arrangements.

Guests Sheryl Crow, Eve, Chuck D, Ani DiFranco and Gwen Stefani enhance the
diversity, though their contributions pale against The Artist's own vision
and vocals in such standouts as the salacious Hot Wit U, languid Man
o' War and piano ballad (Eye) Love U, but (Eye) Don't
Trust U Anymore. Surprises abound, from the deep-grooved funk of hidden
track Prettyman (with Maceo Parker on sax) to the reggae coda on the
falsetto-kissed The Sun, the Moon and Stars and a fervent spoken-word
spiel on Strange but True.

Sexy, exhilarating and celebratory, Rave could be pop's Dom Perignon
of new millennium cocktails.

Artists' 'Rave' less than fantastic, but it ain't all bad

Everything we've come to know and love about the artist formerly known as
Prince is all over his latest record -- for better and worse.

No, this is not the groundbreaking stuff of his '80s masterpieces, nor does
it contain much of his best experimental work of the '90s. But it does brim
with the same scintillating screams, melodies and production expertise that
have marked his 20-plus year career.

The best of the 15 tracks are the ballads, most notably "I Love U,
But I Don't Trust U Anymore," an intimate piano-propped heartbreaker
that rivals Prince's classic "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" on
the goosebump meter. "Wherever U Go, Whatever I Do" is one of those
great life-lesson songs the former Prince cranks out with astonishing regularity,
while "The Sun, the Moon and Stars" is his latest make-out-and-then-some
song for the ages.

NME.com

Prince : Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic

Instead of carving divine sexfunk for the 21st century, Prince Rogers
Nelson has spent most of the '90s desecrating his good name. So it
is with some trepidation we approach 'Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic'...

...Only to be gladly surprised, when the multi-tracked phalanx of helium-infused
Artists trill out the title track refrain like some purple-velvet clad gospel
choir. As opening gestures go, it drips with the kind of playful audacity Prince seemed
to shed the moment he became merely The Symbol.

But, within seconds, 'Rave...' is sunk by the airtight electro-groove
which courses throughout the entire LP. Locked deep within Paisley Park, alone
with his muse, Prince has speedily become a late-period Phil Spector for
the '90s; still impressive, still idiosyncratic, but now severely anachronistic
as well.

It's as if Prince were killed at the turn of the decade, and his record
company have kept the incident a secret, releasing offcuts from his previous
recording sessions as new albums and parading a cyborg-simulacrum for public
appearances so as not to arouse suspicion.

While much of 'Rave...' throbs with what we used to love Prince for
(lascivious funk, wanton lust, a sorbet-light pop touch), and features, in
his X-rated reading of Sheryl Crow's 'Everyday Is A Winding Road',
an astonishing act of dogshit-to-diamond alchemy, we've heard it all before,
and from this very source.

To paraphrase Woody Allen, genius is like a shark; it has to move forward
or it dies. And what we have here is a patchily impressive, fleetingly satisfying,
but very, very dead shark.

2/10

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

Pop musing: Prince's latest 'Rave'

Jon Bream / Star Tribune

The artist generally known as Prince has received considerable attention
this year -- mostly for "1999," the hit he recorded in 1982 that still sounds
remarkably vital today. Now he wants to call attention to his new music.

"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" (Arista), which arrives in stores today, has
probably the greatest likelihood for commercial success of any Prince album
since 1991's double-platinum "Diamonds & Pearls."

The disc is being marketed by Arista, whose founder and driving force, Clive
Davis, is savvy, aggressive and on a hot streak. Arista has made big noise
recently with recordings by Santana, Whitney Houston, TLC, Sarah McLachlan,
Deborah Cox and Eurythmics.

Prince, who had complete artistic control over this CD, has some famous
people helping him -- rocker Sheryl Crow, rapper Eve, indie folkie Ani DiFranco,
No Doubt's Gwen Stefani, Public Enemy rapper Chuck D, saxophonist Maceo Parker
and bassist Larry Graham. Using big-name guest stars has been a successful
strategy for current acts (Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy) as well as for veterans
on the comeback trail (Santana). And Arista knows how to use that tactic
as effectively as any label.

"Rave" is a strong recording, deep with ballads, short on funky party music
but with broad musical appeal. This 15-song collection might not be fantastic,
but many songs will bring joy to the world in 1999 and beyond.

"Rave" seems like Prince's 1990s version of "Around the World in a Day," his
1985 pop kaleidoscope that followed the landmark "Purple Rain" -- with a
little bit of "Parade" (the soundtrack to "Under the Cherry Moon") thrown
in.

"Once again, I don't follow trends, they just follow me," Prince declares
on "Undisputed," his commentary on the music business on "Rave." No, this
disc isn't on the trendy tip; rather, it has more of an '80s vibe. But the
songs will likely end up on the radio.

"So Far So Pleased" is cheesy synth Euro-pop, sweetened by Stefani's voice
and supported by a muscular guitar solo. "The Sun the Moon and Stars" is
celestial pop with an understated electronica beat and a dancehall rap --
Prince's small concessions to modern-day stylings. "Man 'o' War," a falsetto
frustration about a relationship that's run its course, is a strikingly soulful
slow grind that carries on and on. "I Love U, But I Don't Trust U Anymore" is
an emotional piano ballad that could have been lifted from "Under the Cherry
Moon." "Silly Game," about the posturing in relationships, is the ChiLites
for the '90s, suggesting that Prince might find big success in adult-contemporary
land because he knows how to wreak emotional havoc bathed in pretty sounds.

Even when he tries to get raunchy on "Rave," it's not R-rated stuff. "Hot
with U" is a horny come-on, complete with heavy breathing and a fairly tame
rap by Eve of Ruff Ryders; a remix could turn the beat around on this one.
If you want to dance, check out the synth strut of the I-wanna-sex-you-up "Baby
Knows" (with Crow on harmonica and vocals); the housequaking, James Brown
groove of "Prettyman" (a hidden track featuring Parker's marvelous sax);
a funky sendup of Crow's "Everyday Is a Winding Road" (perhaps this hit could
find a second life in the R&B market); and the house-party minimalism
of the opening "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" with its Princely screams, power
guitar and Middle Eastern filigree.

On "Rave," Prince seems more comfortable, more peaceful and more genuinely
loving than on any previous album -- except maybe the second disc of 1996's
3-CD "Emancipation." The closing "Whenever U Go, Whatever U Do" on "Rave" is
sunny and simple, open and hopeful -- much like a glimpse of the light at
the dawn of the new millennium.

salon.com

Call It a ComebackThe Artist Gets Back in the Groove

Album Review: The Artist / "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic"

By CHRISTINA NUNEZ / Pity us poor, loyal Prince fans, the ones who kept our
hands raised and swaying long after the credits rolled on "Purple Rain." We
have endured the "Raspberry Beret" pixie haircut, the "Lovesexy" album cover,
the "SLAVE" facial scrawl and -- let me take a breath here -- the rapping.
We've endured it all and, like a persecuted Apollonia, we come back for more.

We come back for the only thing Prince (oh, all right, the Artist) ever wanted
us to hear: the music. Lately, though, his stock-in-trade has been less than
a sure investment. Solid, filler-free albums have become rare commodities. "Emancipation" (1996)
was a welcome exception. But since then, the fare has been more along the lines
of "The Vault: Old Friends for Sale," much of which should have stayed locked
up at the old Warner Bros. plantation. Even the title track, which was an achingly
sad, spare tune off an old bootleg, is transmogrified on "The Vault" into an
overwrought shell with weakened lyrics.

After contractual disputes with Warner Bros. and a failed attempt at releasing
his own albums, the Artist is supposedly rerecording his entire song catalog
so that he will own his master tapes. In the meantime, he has deigned to let
Arista distribute his latest effort, "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic."

An announcement made by Arista several months ago had us weary Artist consumers
braced for another blow. It said that, like the No. 1 Santana comeback record
with Lauryn Hill and other hot, younger artists, the Artist disc would feature
collaborations with commercially viable stars like Sheryl Crow, Ani DiFranco,
No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani and Chuck D. We winced. Sheryl Crow? Gwen Stefani?
What were these peanuts doing in our chocolate?

Imagine the sighs of relief when Arista CEO Clive Davis previewed the album
for an eager group of media types last month in New York. "Rave" was not ill-conceived,
heavy-handed or clunky. It was good. The Artist tempers Stefani and Crow into
Wendy & Lisa substitutes. DiFranco plays the guitar on a quiet, pretty
ballad called "I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore." Chuck D. does his thing
without interference.

The album's first single, "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold," is an easy-tempo
ballad along the lines of "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," featuring
the Artist's knack for combining pretty melody with staccato rhythm. The rest
of the album travels from ballad to box-blaster and back, blending influences
from hip-hop to trance without straining.

A couple of tracks veer a little too far into "Dawson's Creek"/John Hughes
territory. The Stefani track, for example, "So Far So Pleased," is the type
of song you can imagine playing as the camera pans across a bustling high school
exterior. Other songs revisit the funk roots the Artist is so fond of: "Hot
With U" is a Funkadelic-style grinder with Ruff Ryder's rapper Eve guesting; "Pretty
Man" recruits master horn blower Maceo Parker for a freeform jam. Other notables
include "The Sun, the Moon and the Stars," a contemplative song with "Parade"-era
strings that the Artist wrote after a happy dinner in Spain with bassist Larry
Graham and their wives, and "Undisputed," the Chuck D. track.

We've probably heard the last of the Artist's truly gritty work, like the stuff
long ago on "Dirty Mind" and "1999," but this album at least finds him more
in control of his impulses (i.e., his synthesizer). He is also in top vocal
form, particularly on the title track. Unless the Artist decides to appear
au naturel in the first video, "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" is something a
weathered Prince fan can bring up to the register without any qualms.

WALL OF SOUND

The Artist Formerly Known as PrinceRave Un2 the Joy Fantastic
Label: Arista
Genre: Rock, Pop
File Under: The end of 1999
Rating: 42

November 1999 is a dangerous time for the Artist Formerly Known as Prince
to put out a new CD. Expectations are at a peak because his most enduring
tunes promised his public that after a cleansing "Purple Rain" he'd "party
like it's 1999." But with mass killings, plane wrecks, Y2K fears, and a limp
slate of presidential candidates for the new millennium filling our minds,
getting on board a party train sounds like a ticket to disaster.

And now even Prince, who declared the corporate record machine outdated
and contracts a modern form of slavery, has sold out. His new CD, Rave
Un2 the Joy Fantastic, not only has the power of a major label behind
it, but also does little more than mimic the pop music everybody else is
making. It sounds like the multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer, and fashion
plate needs money, and while Rave will probably rake in the dough
-- especially with an intrusive commercial for his Internet site and 800
number inserted before the final track -- it pales in the light of the Artist's
heretofore brilliant career.

The '80s-ish dance floor title cut opens the set with an appeal for folks
to get happy because if he had a dollar for every smile he'd "sho nuff b
rich awhile." And since the Artist plays all the instruments, he didn't have
to pay any musicians, and doesn't even have to share a dime of his profits. "Undisputed" comes
closer to the Prince we all worshipped. With layers of electronic instrumentation
creating a funk fantasy and the NPG chanting, there are moments of transcendence.
But inserting Public Enemy's Chuck D's rap is interesting but soulless, bringing
the mood down to the banal present.

Other guest spots also seem to be only stabs at attracting a broader audience.
Sheryl Crow plays harmonica and shares the vocals on "Baby Knows," a catchy
song about one sexy babe. (Prince also turns in a spirited and barely recognizable
cover of Crow's "Every Day Is a Winding Road.") The acoustic ballad, "I Love
U but I Don't Trust U Anymore," features Ani DiFranco on acoustic guitar,
an incidental -- not essential -- role. Rather it is the Artist's high, sweet
singing and piano playing that makes the ballad plaintive. Another slow tune, "Wherever
U Go, Whatever U Do" is so unoriginal that it sounds like the Artist has
taken a cue from Puff Daddy and Faith Evans and lifted part of "I'll Be Missing
You" for part of the melody.

Ironically the best dance tune on Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic is the
one most like early Prince, the hidden track that comes after the commercial.
The funky and righteous number features Maceo Parker blowing his sax while
the Artist struts around on all the instruments and uses his voice to its
best James Brown effect as he paints himself as the man all the women are
dying to take home. But it's too little too late. The build-up to the finale
is cynical and narcissistic, and does little to move the listener. This Prince
may not have turned into a frog, but he has become a commoner. -- Roberta
Penn

It's 1999, and Prince aficionados know what that signifies: the 12th anniversary
of his last great album, Sign O' the Times. But hope, like numerology,
springs eternal. Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic inspires optimism, as [The
Artist] has realigned with a major -- Arista's Clive Davis, who might be brave
enough to tell the unreliable hieroglyph the difference between wheat and chaff.
But while the album's Santana-like slew of cameos (Eve, Gwen Stefani, Chuck
D) may belie the Davis touch, Rave -- which has the ex-Prince reverting
to one-man-jam mode in trying to recapture the spirit of '99 -- otherwise remains
a characteristic mix of the kicky and cringe-worthy.

For as lame a song as he's ever unleashed, proceed to track 2.
In ''Undisputed,'' he extols his own genius over a dull rhythmic bed that
begs a second opinion. The Artiste almost redeems himself with the next track,
''The Greatest Romance Ever Sold,'' a silky bedtime story with seductive
descending chord progressions. And so it goes. His disco cover of Sheryl
Crow's ''Everyday Is a Winding Road'' is a borderline travesty, but later,
Crow herself sings on a funny new raunch-rocker, ''Baby Knows,'' that nearly
atones for the earlier misstep. When he's really on, almost anything -- even
that nasty messiah complex -- seems 4givable. Grade: B-